A/HRC/34/30 13. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights requires States parties to ensure that victims of human rights violations have access to an effective remedy and specifically “to ensure that any person claiming such a remedy shall have his right thereto determined by competent judicial, administrative or legislative authorities, or by any other competent authority provided for by the legal system of the State, and to develop the possibilities of judicial remedy”.16 States must ensure that the competent authorities enforce such remedies when granted and take all other necessary steps to prevent the recurrence of violations. III. Human rights challenges in the context of terrorism and counter-terrorism 14. The Council addressed issues relating to the effects of terrorism on the enjoyment by all persons of human rights and fundamental freedoms at a panel discussion during its twenty-ninth session, held on 30 June 2015. In her opening remarks to the panel, the United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights noted that terrorism destabilized Governments, undermined societies, jeopardized peace and security and threatened economic and social development, all of which had serious implications for the enjoyment of human rights by all. She stressed that terrorist attacks had devastating consequences for victims, often directly affecting their rights to life, liberty and security. Such acts also negatively affected relatives, and entire communities lived in fear and suffered longstanding trauma following attacks. Noting that measures taken by a number of States in the wake of recent security threats continued to raise serious human rights concerns, she emphasized the importance of regularly reviewing counter-terrorism laws and practices in order to ensure that they were human rights-compliant and, in particular, specific, necessary, effective and proportionate. In that context, she warned that broadly formulated counter-terrorism legislation that lacked sufficiently precise definitions of what constituted terrorist acts allowed for arbitrary or discriminatory enforcement by authorities. 17 A. Negative effects of terrorism on the enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms 15. Contributions received for the present report and observations by various international human rights mechanisms demonstrate the breadth and depth of the negative impact of both terrorism and counter-terrorism measures on the enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms, as will be illustrated in a non-comprehensive way in the paragraphs below. 1. Impact on the rights to life, security, liberty and integrity of person 16. The right to life is basic to all human rights. It is the supreme right from which no derogation is permitted even in time of public emergency which threatens the life of the nation.18 In order to protect the right to life, States must enact a protective legal framework that involves effective criminal prohibitions on all forms of arbitrary deprivation of life by individuals, including terrorist attacks that may result in such deprivation of life. 16 17 18 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, art. 2 (3) (b). See A/HRC/30/64, paras. 4-7. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, art. 6; see also Human Rights Committee general comments No. 6 (1982) on the right to life, para. 1; and No. 14 (1984) on the right to life, para. 1. 5